The 27-year-old is Godolphin's number one rider in France and a winner of 13 G1 races. Career highlights include the 2011 Epsom Derby aboard Pour Moi, the 2012 Dubai World Cup on Monterosso, and last year's Breeders' Cup Turf on Talismanic.

Hugh Bowman (Australia)

Best known for his association with superstar mare Winx, Bowman boasts an outstanding record of 87 G1 victories and over 2,000 wins overall. The 38-year-old has taken out the New South Wales Metropolitan Jockey Premiership on four occasions and was a winner of the International Jockeys' Championship in 2016.

Castellano is a member of the American National Museum Racing Hall of Fame, with the 41-year-old booting home 108 G1 winners. He's a 10-time Breeders' Cup winner who has accumulated more than US$300 million in career prizemoney. He has ridden in this Challenge once previously, finishing 12th back in 2006.

Silvestre de Sousa (Britain)

The Brazilian-born superstar will be looking to go one better after finishing runner-up in this event last year. The 37-year-old has been crowned British Champion Jockey on three occasions (2015, 2017 and 2018) and comes into this Challenge in strong form, having notched up a double at Sha Tin on Sunday.

Colin Keane (Ireland)

Keane, the son of trainer Gerry Keane, is the youngest competitor in the Jockey Challenge at 24. He was crowned Ireland's champion apprentice in 2014 and backed that up by finishing second in the overall championship the following year. Keane notched up 100 winners in 2017, which was enough to see him take out the Irish premiership.

Christophe Lemaire (Japan)

Currently based in Japan, Lemaire has ridden G1 winners all over the world, including the 2011 Melbourne Cup on Dunaden. In November 2016, he equalled the record of Yutaka Take for the most wins at a single Japanese meeting with eight. Lemaire has competed in this event five times, taking out the 2009 edition.

Lemaire following his victory aboard Mozu Ascot in the G1 Yasuda Kinen at Tokyo. Image: Getty

Ryan Moore (Britain)

Widely-regarded as the best jockey in the world, Moore went back-to-back in this event in 2009/2010. His G1 tally currently stands at 119, spanning across 11 different countries. The 35-year-old has been crowned British Champion Jockey three times (2006, 2008 and 2009) and has the Hong Kong Cup, Hong Kong Mile and Hong Kong Vase (x2) on his CV.

Zac Purton (Hong Kong)

Purton started his career in Brisbane, winning the premiership there in 2003. He then moved to Sydney before eventually settling in Hong Kong in 2007. He won the first of his two Hong Kong premierships in 2013/14, bringing an end to Douglas Whyte's remarkable 13-season streak. Purton and Joao Moreira staged a sensational battle in 2017/18, with the former prevailing 136-134. Purton is striving to go back-to-back in this event. Yutaka Take (Japan)

The oldest of the 12 competitors at 49, Take is a legendary figure in Japan, with 18 premierships to his name. The veteran jockey boasts more than 4,000 wins and was the first rider to boot home eight winners on one card in Japan. He guided superstar galloper A Shin Hikari to victory in the 2015 Hong Kong Cup and won this event way back in 2004.

Karis Teetan (Hong Kong)

Teetan notched up 50 wins in his first Hong Kong season and backed that up with a third-placing behind Purton and Moreira in last season's premiership. The Mauritian-born rider was crowned South African Champion Apprentice in 2008 and represented SA in the 2012 International Jockeys' Invitational in Seoul. Teetan will be keen to improve on his 9th-placing in this event last year.

Karis Teetan embracing the Happy Valley crowd. Image: Getty

Vincent Ho Chak-yiu (Hong Kong)

Ho took out the 2010/11 Champion Apprentice title in Hong Kong and was the leading homegrown rider in 2014/15. He's had stints in New Zealand - where he racked up 44 winners - and the UK - where he piloted a winner at his very first attempt. The 28-year-old competed in this event in 2014, finishing 5th.

Matthew Poon Ming-fai (Hong Kong)

Matthew 'Poon Train' Poon achieved cult figure status in Australia when indentured to Adelaide-based trainer Richard Jolly back in 2015. The young rider was crowned South Australia's Champion Apprentice Jockey at the end of his first season, and was sitting second in the overall premiership in his second season before returning to Hong Kong. Poon makes his International Jockeys' Championship debut here.